The result was the program's 16th all-time in triple digits, including the 11th in Alico Arena history and the eighth of the Division-I era. The Eagles shot 37-for-68 (.544) from the field, which is tied for the seventh-most field goals made in the Division-I era and the 10th-best percentage in Alico Arena history by a team donning the Green and Blue.
"I liked the intensity and the pace we played with," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We're incorporating a lot of new players, and we're a team that likes to be precise in what we do, and this has taken some time. I thought we took a good step forward today. So many people contributed in a positive way, which was good to see. In the first half, it was a close game and we started knocking down a bunch of threes in a row. That put us in the lead, and I thought we played more relaxed and comfortable after that."
Four players reached double figures for FGCU, including redshirt junior Keri Jewett-Giles (18), redshirt sophomore Chandler Ryan (12), junior Nasrin Ulel (11) and freshman Tanner Bryant (11), while six others scored at least five points.
Freshman Samantha Streeter, who was a team manager last year, came off the bench to score her first collegiate points in the final two minutes to give FGCU its 99th and 100th points.
Florida International led 10-6 just over four minutes into the opening quarter, but FGCU closed on a 18-2 run, including 14 points over the final three minutes. After TaMiracle Taylor opened the second frame with a 3-pointer for FIU, the Eagles scored 13 of the next 15 points, capped by a layup from redshirt Lisa Zderadicka to push the lead to 20 with 5:33 left in the half.
The Eagles then poured in five 3-pointers over the final four minutes, and redshirt senior Destiny Washington caromed a layup on the right side of the rim into the hoop for a 58-28 lead at the half.
Jewett-Giles converted a layup with 3:57 in the third to push the margin to 40 for the first time, and the Eagles led by as many as 44 twice late in the fourth, the first of which came on four consecutive 3-pointers from the combination of redshirt freshman Tyra Cox, Bryant and Ryan.
Junior Tytionia Adderly tied Washington for a team-high in rebounds with seven, added three assists and three steals. She is now tied with Adrianne McNally (2006-10) for the third-most rebounds in Alico Arena history with 339, and she eclipsed 100 steals in her career, moving into 11th in the program's Division-I era for a career. Furthermore, she became just the 20th player in the Division-I era to play 70 games in the Green and Blue and needs 15 rebounds to 600 in her career.
Sophomore Alyssa Blair, who earned her first career start against FIU, tallied nine points and a team-high four steals on 3-for-5 shooting in just 13 minutes. Ryan now has three consecutive games with at least 12 points and four 3-point field goals to open the season. She finished 4-for-7 from 3-point range and led the team in assists with four.
Up Next:
FGCU will travel to Honolulu to open the Rainbow Wahine Showdown Nov. 23-25, where they will battle No. 7/7 Stanford, Hawaii and American.
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